Carbonating apparatus



lJuly 13, 1926.v

H. H. LEWIS CARBONATING APPARATUS Filed March 25 Shee -Sheel l July 131926. 1,592,305

H. H. LEWIS CARBONATING APPARATUS Filed March 25, 19 P. v eet 2 v I w rI U i i i Y lf f /0 r .4 1 a* i 5 d f' U f y u r, Il 1 E l /p 7 0- l /7/H Il l i OH Y 9 OO: O K

if r f" Patyenieiuly 13, 192e;v

PATENT oFFlcE.'

HARRY H. LEWIS, 'OF I EORTLAND, OREGON.

CARBONATING APPARATUS.

application mea Maren 25, 1921. serial No. 455,691@V The object of myinvention is to provide a simple yet e'cient carbonating 'apparatusparticularly adapted for use in connection with a draft arm of theso-called soda water fountain, the apparatus being thrown, vinto actionby the mere drawing of the soda Water from the fountain. A

To this `end I have linvented an apparatust which comprisesas its-fundamental feature a mixing chamber connected with heads of water andcarbonio acid gas, both discharging into the mixing chamber; and Iprovide means whereby the discharge of the gas into the mixing chambei`is proportioned relatively to the Water, thus assuring the charging of agiven volume of water with a definite volume of gas;l and associatedwith said features are means for thoroughly intermixing the twosubstances. For soda fountain purposes it is desirable to have anapparatus by which the water,as drawn from the citymain under relativelylow and varying pressure, will be ellicient-ly charged with carbonicacid gas,drawn from a'tank in which it is contained under relativelyhigh pressurei Hence, yvvhen my 1nventlon is applied to a soda fountainI attain my object by controlling theioutlet of the Water from` the maininto the mixingA chamber of'lny apparatus by a valve-like closure, ordevice, which is adapted to be hydraulically operated by the flow ofWater through the mixing chamber, and from the draft-arm of the fountaineachv time the valve of the draC-it-arm is opened; and such valve likedevice carries, and thus operates, the valve controlling the dischargeof the gas into the' mixing chamber, thereby caus- A ing the valvescontrolling the admission of 40 the water and the gas into' the mixingchamher'to work in unison.

Mechanism of this character -vvhich constrolsr mixtures of gas and waterreceive the gas at a relatively higher pressurewthan thatA V :it whichthey receive the water. The hole admitting the gas" is made smaller thanthe hole admitting water for the mixture.` When the. conditions aren'm'mal the proportions of y gas and `Water are' correct, but when thefdemand is greater than normal the percentage of gasdecreasesrelatively. This is because the inlet hole is smaller and thusprevents inore thana certain amount of gashl v l o stallation of frompassing therethru, and the hole for the water vbeing relatively largeris thus not proportionately limited.

On the other hand, when the demand' is f .mand is `abnrmal either largeor small.

` I attain this object by providingy the gas valve Witha comical lugwhich is fastened to theactuator and t ius increases the cross sectionalarea of the gas inlet proportionately-to the lift ol the actuator. Ialso make the base of the mixing chamber with a boss thru which theliquid inlet extends. 'Ifhe actuator is provided on its under side witha pendent peripheral flange having loose sliding contact with the sidesofthe boss and i thus adapted'to permit a limited flow from said liquidinlet sufficient to compensate for any small demand Without lifting theactuator and opening thegas inlet.

A further object of my invention is to provide a mechanical controlwhich will prevent the carbonio acid gas fromV escaping Jfrom the gasinlet even tho the Water pressure is eliminated. I attain my object byplacing a spring so as -to bear against the actuator so/that it Willnormally` close the gas inlet against the pressure exerted by the faceof the actuator.

My invention vmay alsov be used for mixing proportionately other liquidsand gases., f A

The devices and by which I attainithe results above referred. to arehereinafter described, and `i llustrated in the accompanying drawings,1n"

lFig. 1 diagrammatically illustrates .the inapparatus for 4dispensing lcarbonated or soda water `from the comiy v105- Fig.A 2 shows a largerscaled longitudinal mon soda-fountain draft-arm;

gas on the opposite' i eomprised'in my invention',

central section of apparatus, thus disu A auxiliary to the pressureWithin the hollow closing the interior details of construction;

Fig. 3 shows the lower part of the seotion shown in Fig. 2 with theactuator as positioned when soda-Water is drawn from the draft-arm.; Q

"Fig: 4 is asimilar section to Fig. 3 illustrating a modification in theconstruction of the valve controlling the discharge of the. 1o gas intothe lmixing chamber of my apparatus; u

Fig. 5 is a section of the valve-seat on -which the actuator bears, andillustrates another modification of the valve controll5 ling thedischarge orifice of the gas dct.

Fig. f6 -is an exterior view corresponding with Fig. 5 .and particularlyillustrates that v. the lower edge vof the "actuator is provided withguide-lugs so as to preyent it becoming out of alignment fromthe'valve-seat;

Fig. Z is a section corresponding with the cross section planesdesignatedl by the line Fig, 8 is` a section approximately on the line 88 of Fig. 2;--and 9 is a cross section through the absorption chamber onthe line'9-9 ot Fig. 2.

Referring )first to Fig. l a represents a commercial cylinder containinga supply of 3Q carbonio-acidv gas under high pressure. b 1s a pressuregage; c is a manual ygas pressure regulatorgeY is thegas cock; e thepipe c onnecting the gas cylinder with my apparatus ,f on. one side; gis the pipe connectingmy apparatus f with the Water main; It a checkvalve in the Water pipe; i the pipe leading ffrom my apparatus to thedraft arm of the soi-called soda'water fountain.

My apparatus is composed of the following parts: A base-piecebisprovided with coupling project-ions Z andm for connecting with thegas cylinder andthe Water main.

A-,duet n, n extends through one side ofthe basepiece and constitutesthe gasduct and o constitutes the water duct. 'lhe base-piece is madewith acylindrical projection-p conv lstituting a valveseat andhas 'anozzle g projectinghxially a substantial distance beyoud the valve seatp the gas duct n extending toV the (tip of the nozzle and the Water ducto terminating in thevalve seat p. Un the valveseat p is loosely andslidably mounted a valve like device 1' which l nd it iconvenient toterm actuator because it functions to actuate the gas valve s, thelatter being carried by the actuator and controlling the dischargeorifice of the gas duct e As obvious, ,the actuator is adapted to behydraulically operated, because it constitutes a artial valve-like.closure for the waterin etvor duct o.

The actuator is provided with a plurality of laterally and radiallyextending as out- The action of this spring tris. merely cylinder w.This spring exerts enough force so that it Will hold the actuating valvetight on the orifice of the gas duct n against the gas pressure even thoall of the water pressure is removed. The superiority of the force ofthespring is slight and thus does not interfere with the proper actionof the actuating valve. A housing 'v is mounted on the basel piece c andthe interior lof this housing constitutes what l term'the mixing`chamber of my a paratus. The upper end e of the mixing c iamber isadapted to have a hollow cylinder 'w affixed therein, such cylinderconstitutingthe absorption chamber of my apparatus.r 0n the upper end ofthe absorption chamber is secured a cap to which the pipe z' leading tothe draft ar'fm lnicating openingis inserted a perforated plate yconstituting a screen. ln the coupling neck l of the base lpiece 1l: isalso inserted a screen z.

ln the absorption chamber l provide a series of transverse liaing platesas Sand 4, one having a central opening and the other a space about itsperiphery 'and the entire interior of the absorption chamber is filledwith pebbles or similar granular material,

the baiiling plates and granular material 'y funct'ioping to break upthe water into numerous smaller quantities and thus promoting theintermixture therewith and/the absorption of the carbonio-acid gas.

The screen y and the granular material 5' will be adapted to prevent anyparticles f the latter from falling or entering into the `mixing chamberu; also screen y at top.

ylhe operation of my device is as follows: Assuming a pressure in theWater head of First the Water enters through the duct 0 80 pounds and inthe gas head of 90 pounds.l

ofthe basepiece ic and is permitted vto fill the interior of myapparatus; the filling of the latter being promoted byopening the valvecontrolling the draft arm ofthe soda `Water fountain. Next Vthe gas-cockd of the cylinder a may be opened. l/Vhen then the valve of thedraft-armv is opened the pressure of theV water against the interior frof the actuator rlifts the latter',v conipressing the coil spring u andproportionally to the lift of the actnatorr the gasvalve s is liftedfrom its seat on the tip of the nozzle q, thus permitting gas to enterAthe mixing chamber 'v through the radial outlets t of the actuator.

T he volume of gas vvhichis permittedto flow into the mixing chamber bythe lifting yof the gas-valve a is regulated by the needle Ivalve 6. Theadjustment of the needle valve 6 is important to the proper operation ofmy apparatus, since, of course, it is required to paratus that it willproject downward;` for permit only the desired volume of gas to enterthe mixing chamber.

The actuator r slides loosely on the rim of the protruding valve seat p;and in order` to prevent the actuator from becoming displaced the lowerrim thereof is provided with guide-lugs 7.

The actuator does not close the liquid inlet because the'actuator rslides loosely on the rim of the protruding valve 79 and thus a limitedamount of water can flow from the liquid inlet without moving theactuator r ofi' its seat over the discharge orifice of If thereV is alimited demand for mixture in the draftarm, due to leaks orsimilarcauses, the fresh supply to the cylinder w will beentirely water. This iloose `fit between the actuator r and the rim of the protruding valve palso prevents the actuator r from being held off its seat by theentrapped water which would ythus present an incompressible columnagainst the interior r ofthe actuator r.` l l As soon as the valve ofthe draft-arm of the soda-water fountain yis cldsed the checking of theflow of water through the mixing chamber will cause the pressure on .theinterior and eigterior of the actuatorL to become e ualizedr to suchextent that the reaction of t e sprin will reseat the actuator, thusclosing the liglischarge orifice of the gas-duct. ,i

The water pressure in the mixing4 chamber will vary from timeto 'timecorrespondingly to thevariation of pressure in the main due to varyingwater consumption; but the pressure of the gas ,will-be kept constant,due to the operation of the standard gaspressure regulator c, and thusat all times the gas may be maintained ata pressurev greater than gthatof the water.

With the parts proportioned vas shown, the bearing surface of the gasvalve is too small to `.ermit the gas to force this valve open agalnstthe pressure of the spring u.

A On the other hand, when the valve of the draft arm is opened,I thuspermitting thev water from the main to flow through the mixing chamber,then the pressure of the water, due to its velocity through the duct 0and the relatively large bearing surface of the water on the actuator,will. overcome the spring u and thus move the actuator into theLposition which opens the gas valve.

A suitable check valvefw is provided in the water-pipe g so as toprevent the pressure in the mixing chamber causing any back flow intothe water pipe, and thus'preventingthe waste of gas, in case the gasvalve s should not function properly.

While in the drawings, my apparatus has been placed in verticalposition, such position is obviously immaterial. In some instances it isfound preferable so to arrange my apif projecting upward the gas whichaccumulates at the top of the absorption chamber *"w may cause agurgling noise when opening the valve of the draft-arm, while if myapparatus is invertedthe gas would of/course collect at the opposite endof the absorption chamber, and the water would have a more unobstructedpassage th-rough the draftf, arm.

In order to assure an effective closing of `the discharge orifice of thegas-duct a construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 may be employed. In thisinstance the actuator r3 has threaded into it an-adjustable plug 8having at its lower end a tapering projection 9 which bears in thedischarge orifice of the lgas-duct n and constitutes the gas valve andthus assures that the gasvalve will always properly be operated and willeectively close said discharge-orifice when the actuator r3 is returnedto its normal or inactive position. f

gradually removed from the dlscharge oriflee..y The gradual withdrawingof the plug will cause the gradual uncovering of the gas duct n. Ittherefore follows that the gas inlet will be opened proportionately tothe lift of the actuator. If there is a large demand the gas will bepermitted fo flow at a relatively greater rate and thus will compensatefor the natural retardation to the `flow of the gas thru a restrictedorifice.

-Thus the last described construction has special utility where thecarbonated water is used in larger quantities, as for example in abottling plant, than normally, or more than normal is drawn from a sodawater fountain `and where it is desirable to inbe regulated as requiredby means of the gas' pressure regulator as usual.

l have described my apparatus as adapted for carbonating water, sincesuchwas its primary purpose; and .from such descrip- 'tion it apparenthow my. apparatus may also be used to mix other liqdids and gases;

under conditions similar' to those which obtain in the charging of Waterwith carbonicacid was.-

li claaim:

l.. ln a carbonating apparatus, of .the

hydraulically operated actuator adapted for being moved in one directionby the pressure of, the liquid passing intoJsaid mixingchamber, saidactuator covering said liquid inlet, and rcarryingrthe valve of saidgasinlet, the basepot the mixing chamber, and

the actuator being'provided with a boss and a peripheral flange havingloose sliding contact with the sides of said boss respectively andadapted to permit limited `tlovv therefrom, sudicient to compensate forany small reduction of pressure in( the mixing chamber, Without liftingthe actuator` and opening said gas-inlet, and asprin'g adapted normallyso to position said actuator` as to close said gas inlet against saidgas head.

2. lin acarbonating apparatus of the character described, amixing-chamber con/- nected With a head of liquid and a head of gas, andhaving an inlet for each,a draftarm connected withhsaid mixing-chamber,a hydraulically operated actuator adapted for 'being moved in one:direction by the pressure of the liquid passing-into said mixingchamber, said actuator covering said liquid inlet, and carrying thevalve of said lgasinlet, the base of the mixing chamber and the Yactuator being provided with a boss -and a peripheral flange havingloose sliding contact with the sides of said boss respectively auadapted to permit limited flow there'- from', suhcient to compensate forany small reduction of pressure in the .mixing chamber, withoutliftingthe actuator and opening said gas-inlet, said gas valve being adapted toopen the gas-inlet proportionately to the lift of said actuator,substantially as described, and a spring adapted normally so to positionsaid actuator as to close said gas inlet against said gas head..

3. ln a car'bonating apparatus of the' character described, amixing-chamber coinnected with ahead ofcliquid'and a head or" gas, andhaving an inlet for each, a. draftarln connected with said mixingchamber, a hydraulically operated actuator adapted for being moved inone direction by the pressure of the liquid passing into saidmixing-chamber, said actuator a d said inlets ,carrying devices forcarrying he dow from both of said inlets, the devices being so arrangedthat the .flow from both ofsaid inlets is increased in proportion to thelift of saidiactuator. v.

aaeaaoe fl. In a carbonating apparatus of the charin its base, adraft-arm connected with said mixing-chamber, a hydraulically operatedactuator -adapted for being moved in one direction by the pressure o theliquid passing into said mixing-chamber, said actuator covering/landsubstantially .closing said liquid inlet, and carrying the valve of saidgasinlet, the moving of said actuator serving to increase the size ofthe apertures in both,-

o said inlets proportionately to the movement of said actuator. V v

' 5. ln a carbonating apparatus of the characier described, amixing-chamber having a base having a^liquid duct and a gas duct adaptedfor connecting with a' head of liquid and a head of gas respectively,the'baseV being provided with a projecting nozzle thru which thegas-duct extends, a hydraulically operated actuator provided with atubular extension, closed at its upper end, vsliding on said nozzle andcarrying the valve acter described, a Amixing-chamber adapted'- `to beconnected'with a heed oit liquid anda head of gas,.and having an inletfor each of said gas-duct, the base of the mixing chamber and saidactuator beingprovided yvitli a bossv and a peripheral flange havingloose sliding contact with the sides of said boss respectively, therebypermittin a lim- -ited flow of liquid into the mixing. c amber,suiiicient to compensate for any small reductionof pressure in thelatter, Without lifting the actuator and thus opening lsaid gas duct.

. 6. ln a carbonating apparatus of the character described, amixing-chamber'` having a base having a liquid duct and a gas duct`adapted for connecting with a head of liquid and a head of gasrespectively, the base .being provided with a projecting noz- 'zle thruwhich the gas-duct extends, a hydraulically operated actuator providedwith a tubular extension, closed at its upper end, sliding on saidnozzle and carrying the valve of said gas-duct, the base of the mixingchamber, and said actuator4 being provided With a boss and a peripheraldange having loose slidin of said boss lrespectlvely, thereby permittinga limited low of liquid into the mining chamber, sucient to compensatefor any small reduction of pressure in the latter,

BGG i contact with the sides V without lifting the actuator and thusopendraulically operatedaetuator. provided with a tubular extension,closed atits upper end',

chamber, suicient to compensate for any small reduction of pressure inthe latter,

-wlthout lifting the actuator and thus opening said gas duct, and aspring adapted normally so to position said actuator as to close saidgas-duct against the gas-head.

8. In a carbonating apparatus of the character described, amixingl-chamber having a base having a liquid duct and a gas ductadapted for connecting with a head of liquid and a head of gasrespectively, the base being provided with a projecting nozzle thruwhich the gas-duct extends, a hydraulically operated actuator providedwith a tubular extension, closed at its upper end, sliding on -saidnozzle and carrying the valve of said gas-duct, the base of the mixingchamber, and said actuator being provided with a boss and a peripheraliiange having loose sliding contact with the sides of said bossrespectively, thereby permitting a limited flow of liquid into themixing chamber, suiicient to compensate for any small reduction ofpressure in the latter, Without lifting the actuator and thus openingsaid gas duct, said gasqvalve being conical thus adapted to open thegas-duct proportionately to the lift of said actuator substantially asdescribed-` and a spring adapt-` ed normally so to position saidactuator as lto close said gas-duct against the gas-head.

HARRY H. LEWIS.

